Components for masonry construction

ABSTRACT

A component is a building block having a pair of parallel load-bearing concrete side walls separated by a gap and joined by crossed metal ties which bridge the gap. The outer faces of the side walls can be covered with a decorative finish such as stone. The blocks have an added end wall which enables pillars to be built. The method of casting the blocks utilizes a collapsible metal mold which permits the side walls to be stepped.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

See Application Data Sheet.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

THE NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB)

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention concerns components for building construction and to methods for making them.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.

Block work is widespread in the construction industry. Blocks for this type of work are cast in concrete and have two end walls and a central wall which creates a pair of side by side square cavities in the block. The blocks are laid in courses so the cavities lie in register and these admit reinforcing rods whereafter the cavities may be filled with concrete,

While these are especially suitable for internal walls in buildings, they are less suitable for walls and features used in landscaping where appearance is more important and block laying skills may not be available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus aspect of the invention provides a component for masonry construction comprising a pair of parallel, load-bearing upright side members of equal size having inner and outer faces, wherein the inner faces are separated by a gap and joined by a tie structure which extends from face to face and is embedded in the side members.

These may be laid in courses like blocks to a string line without block laying still because the components have accurate geometric shape and lie in contact with each other in the finished wall.

The upper and lower longitudinal edges of both sides are stepped so as to form a lap joint when stacked on a like component.

The two ends of both side members are also stepped so as to form lap joints when butted to a like component.

The members may be composed of masomy that is a hardenable construction mix such as concrete, cementitious mixes, geopolymers and like non-cement mixes capable of being cast in moulds.

The outer face of one of the members may be covered by a layer of different compositions offering additional weatherproofing, for example stone veneer, brick veneer or render to make the walls or pillars made from the components to be painted. Whereas the members may be 50 mm thick, the layer may be 15-20 mm thick.

The inner face of the member may have a different layer more suited to the interior of a building. For example, if a garage were built from the components, the outer faces of the members which are to form the inside wall surface may have a layer of plaster.

The tie structure may be a pair of metal ties with ends which are embedded in the thickness of the members and define spaces through which conduits, cables and pipes may extend. While the members find use as garden walls, gateways, doorways, pillars and part of boundary fencing, their use in buildings necessitates utilisation of the continuous cavity which they provide. This cavity formed by the gap between members may be 70-80 mm wide.

The metal ties may be hollow rectangular frames with corner extensions for embedding. Alternatively the metal ties may be X-shaped again with end extensions for embedding. The ties may lie at ⅓ and ⅔ of the length of the members. The ties may be of tubular, angular or bar section being joined where they cross by welds. They are aligned in a finished wall so that reinforcement rods can extend vertically through the wall.

The second apparatus aspect of the invention provides a channel-shaped, load-bearing building component with two parallel side walls joined by an end wall, wherein the two side walls are connected by a tie structure which extends from inner wall face to inner wall face and is embedded in the side walls.

The upper, lower and end edges are stepped so as to form lap joints with the straight members of the components described above.

The purpose of the channel-shaped component is to form the end of a wall built from the components when laid in courses like brick work or block work.

The filling may be carried out by a moulding machine fed by a concrete mixer.

The outer face or faces of the blocks may be veneered that is adhesive applied and a decorative layer applied to conform to the shape of the face. This may be stone, pebbles, chipped stone, artificial stone and the like.

The method aspect of the invention provides a method of making a component for masonry construction comprising the steps of preparing a mould with outside perimeter walls and inside perimeter walls on a base, inside perimeter walls having two pairs of slots arranged on a long axis of the inside perimeter, inserting a reinforcement tie into each pair of slots so that part of the reinforcement lies between the inner and outer walls of the remainder of the reinforcement spans the space between the pairs of inner walls, filling the space between the inner and outer walls with hardenable construction mix and removing the cast component from the mould by force applied to the reinforcement.

Production of the components is commenced by erecting a series of moulds laid end to end so that a concrete pump can be used to fill the moulds in sequence.

The mould building sequence begins by erecting pairs of end walls spaced from each other by 20 mm, each pair being 150 mm high and spaced from the next pair in line by 360 mm which is the length of the walls of the component. The end walls are connected by butting plates which form a cuboid mould which defines two cavities, one for each slab.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

1. Speed of construction.

2. Obviates need for blocklaying skill.

3. Different decorative finishes are possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the variety of blocks required for wall and pillar construction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the endmost block in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a pair of blocks superimposed.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of part of a wall made from three courses of blocks.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the bottom two courses of a pillar made from blocks with the same shape as the endmost block in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a corner block, being a variant of the short end block of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of a fragment of the mould showing an inner wall with a slot housing a portion of the metal tie which spans the block walls.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a fragment of two interfitting wall ends with a tenon and groove formation.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a portion of a production line showing pairs of end walls with step-forming channels in position and about to receive a drop-in outer wall and a drop-in inner wall.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an end wall.

FIG. 11 is a sectional perspective view of a fragment of a mould in the production line of FIG. 9 showing two walls and two channels ready to be charged with concrete.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall block 2 (180 W×360 L×150 H mm) is made from a pair of parallel concrete slabs 6, each with a rebate 8 so that when laid in courses the rebates 8 and upstands 10 form lap joints. In FIG. 2 the upstands have a groove 12 which allows the blocks to be laid at 90° forming the pillar of FIG. 5.

The slabs 6 are held parallel by embedded steel ties 14. These are galvanised steel rods 16 which are welded centrally to form a cross. The ends of the rods are in turn welded to steel strip plates 16 which are incorporated in the casting stage of the block.

FIG. 1 shows four versions of the block which a blocklayer would use in wall and pillar work. Block 18 has a pair of side walls joined by end wall 20 and ties 14. These are used to construct hollow pillar 22 shown in FIG. 5. As block 18 is 360 mm long it is advantageous to have an end block of half the length of block 18. This half end block 24 has a single tie 14. Half block 26 has two ties.

In FIG. 4 the blocks 2 are laid in courses and covered by a masonry cap 28. The outer face of slab 6 is veneered with small rectangular pieces of stone 30 in ashlar style creating a decorative outer surface. In the example shown both outer faces are veneered.

In FIG. 6 an L-shaped corner block 32 is pebble dashed on one face and braced by ties 14.

In FIGS. 9 and 10 the casting moulds 40 are aligned in order to be filled by a mobile mixer which travels the length of the production line.

The moulds lie on a casting table 42 and consist of pairs of upright, supported end walls 44 spaced from each other. Inner walls 36 are dropped into grooves 46 in end walls 44. Each end wall 44 has square cutouts 48 in the top edge 50 and square cutouts 52 in bottom edge 54. Outer walls 56 drop into grooves 58. End walls 44 imprison pairs of inverted steel channels 60 which lie on the moulding table 42, These ensure that the added concrete forms a cast step in the slab wall along the bottom edge of the slab. Likewise cutouts 48 capture pairs of steel channels 62 in order to cast a step in the top edge of the slab.

Concrete enters the gap marked by the arrow in FIG. 11. When the ties are inserted in slots 34, casting ensues and when the slabs are set, the mould is collapsed, cleaned and reassembled. The strip plates are not visible being embedded in the mix,

It is to be understood that the word “comprising” as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form, ie. use of the word “comprising” does not exclude the addition of other elements.

It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention, These modifications and/or additions are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the invention. 

1. A component for masonry construction, comprising: a pair of parallel, load-bearing upright side members of equal size having inner faces and outer faces, wherein the inner faces are separated by a gap; and a tie structure joining each inner face to another inner face and being embedded in the side members.
 2. The component as claimed in claim 1, wherein upper and lower longitudinal edges of both sides are stepped so as to form a lap joint when stacked on a like component.
 3. The component as claimed in claim 2, wherein two ends of both side members are also stepped so as to form lap joints when butted to a like component.
 4. The component as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step in both sides is interrupted by a groove which allows one component to be stacked at 90 degrees to a lower component.
 5. The component as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a hardenable mix being concrete, cementitious mix, geopolymer or other non-cement mix.
 6. The component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer face of one side member is covered by a layer of different composition which offers additional weatherproofing.
 7. The component as claimed in claim 6, wherein the layer is at least one of a group consisting of: stone veneer, brick veneer, and render.
 8. The component as claimed in claim 6, wherein the members are 50 mm thick and the covering layer is 15-20 mm thick,
 9. The component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner face of one side member is covered by a layer of different compositions which offers decor suitability.
 10. The component as claimed in claim 9, wherein the layer is plaster suitable for a room interior.
 11. The component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tie structure is comprised of a pair of metal ties with ends which are embedded in the thickness of the members and define the gaps suitable for conduits, cables and pipes to occupy.
 12. The component as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gap is 70-80 mm wide.
 13. The component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two parallel side walls are joined by an end wall.
 14. A method for making a component for masonry construction, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a mold with outside perimeter walls and inside perimeter walls on a base, the inside perimeter walls having two pairs of slots arranged on a long axis of the inside perimeter; inserting a reinforcement tie into each pair of slots so that part of the reinforcement lies between the inner and outer walls of the remainder of the reinforcement and spans the space between the pairs of inner walls; filling the space between the inner and outer walls with hardenable construction mix; and removing the cast component from the mould by force applied to the reinforcement.
 15. A method of casting a masonry component, the method further comprising the steps of: erecting a pair of upright end walls to form a mold, joining the end walls with a pair of outer walls and a pair of inner walls lying parallel to the outer wall spanning the two inner walls with a pair of ties which extend through the inner walls, and filling the mold space between the inner and outer walls with hardenable construction mix, whereby the ties are embedded in the mix.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the end walls are provided with pairs of cutouts in the top and bottom edges and channel pieces are inserted in the cutouts in order to create a stacking step in the top of each cast wall and the bottom of each cast wall.
 17. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the inner walls are slotted in order to admit and release the ties during the mold sequence. 